Our little country home is the setting
for where we live a life we always dreamed of, endure heartaches we never expected, and gobble up an abundance of love. Lessons learned, dreams fulfilled, and adventures shared.

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Thursday, December 5, 2013

Are You in the Spirit Yet?

Every year, it happens to me suddenly. Unexpectedly. Often at weird times, either too early by some standards or too late by others. I am struck right in the heart with the Christmas Spirit!! It feels like vanilla-scented, snow-wrapped, angel-whispers lightning.

This year, maybe because emotionally I have needed it so badly, or because the Universe has been offering up so much really nourishing reading material that just naturally aimed my heart at this Miracle, or I-don't-know-the-heck why, I was in the Christmas spirit just shortly after Halloween. In deference to the men in my home, though, I refrained. I tried to keep things pretty turkey-and-harvest centered for as long as possible.

Now..... We have the tree up and bedecked with a thousand strands of white lights. Every one a counted blessing. The tree is not decorated quite yet, but it will be soon. A few other spots around the house are decorated and transitioning nicely from Autumnal Opulence to Winter at the Farm. It all can be very mesmerizing.

If my home has a theme this year, it is feathers, paper poofs, and white lights!

I really do love this time of year, no matter how much I love spring and summer (the very most). The anticipation, the sensation of possibility, the closeness, the cuddling, the giving and sharing, loving, decorating, cooking, celebrating...

There is so dang much celebrating to do.

And in a grief season when not everyone really feels like celebrating, or perhaps we feel guilty indulging in beautiful moments... The power of Love sets everything straight. It infuses the air we breath with calm. It motivates us to stretch away from self and out into the cold, toward others. If we're lucky, they stretch toward us, too. Love affords us the sparkling brightness of celebration, regardless of circumstance.

Are you in the Christmas spirit yet? I hope so. I hope sincerely that you can shrug off the frustration of limited purchasing power and trade it for inspiration of how to give of yourself, your unique, pulsing, spirited self. I hope your needs are met so consistently that you can rest daily in the peculiar beauty of winter and even the artificial pretties we bring out.

This magical display is at a local German restaurant, not at the farm. But I love it.

Read good stuff. Eat good, delicious, healthy food. Drink excellent coffee, hot tea, or cocoa. Cuddle people. Listen to music and watch movies that make you feel good. Uphold your favorite traditions. Resist the weird temptation to dwell on thoughts of not enough or memories of painful Christmases past. Determine that your imagination, your very heart, belongs to all the promises and generous measures of hope that Love offers. Because it is not a myth; Christmas is very real. Love conquers all, and Love is with us.

Grow some paperwhites indoors!!

Merry Christmas-making! If you're in my very frigid, icy neck of the woods, be safe. To every single one of you, thanks ever so much for visiting.

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?"~Bob HopeXOXOXOXO

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Farm Fresh Eggs 2013: 799

Last year was wonderful! We collected 959 eggs, allowing us to share them with friends and bake constantly. Beginning early February of 2013, we have started a fresh count! When we reach 500 eggs, whenever that is, I'll do a fun giveaway, so stay tuned!